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SHELL ISSUE - n° 18 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
Custom Line Nav
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QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/03 /2019 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50- Poste Italian amento Postale e S.p.a. - 70% - LO/MI
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DESIGN INSPIRED
BY A LOVE OF ART AND DECORATION by Marta Bernasconi
Comfortable luxury is the hallmark of their designs. A portrait of Simone Ciarmoli and Miguel Queda two personalities with complementary skill sets who share a rich, varied career history
Style details for three chairs created by the two italian designer for the furniture company Annibale Colombo
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PHOTO HELENIO BARBETTA
Miguel Queda and Simone Ciarmoli in the entrance to a Milanese residence. The mosaic flooring is by Lucio Fontana
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with names like Armani and Prada, we have been involved with the visual arts, and we’re very familiar with the world of furnishing fabrics. We’re inquisitive by nature and we’re in love with this work”. The studio still works in the fashion sector, creating sets, pop-up stores and showrooms. One of their latest projects is for the London stores of Jimmy Choo and Agnona. “For the Agnona store we recreated the heritage of a company with an illustrious past. We designed all the furnishings, which to some extent is what we do best”. For many projects by Ciarmoli and Queda, bespoke is a constant theme. The creatives’ personal styles can be seen in the furnishings and interior design projects, a blend of high artisanal expertise, attention to detail, careful choice of materials and a style that
L
ooking through images of the projects they have
integrates a classical repertoire into a contemporary
completed, there are many reasons to celebrate
context. “Curiosity and passion are what drive our
the first ten years of the studio’s activities since its
creativity. We can lose ourselves in the pages of a
foundation in 2009. The two people behind the studio’s
design book, become excited when confronted by the
success are Simone Ciarmoli and Miguel Queda, and
genius of architects like Franco Albini and be dazzled
their designs, from products to homes, retail stores and
by the perfection displayed in the making of antique
yachts, show a wide range of inspirations and influences.
objects created for a practical use. In the Agnona
“Our backgrounds have enabled us to take on a variety of
showroom project, for example, the strong idea behind
projects. Each of us brings different skills to the studio,
it came to us when we were looking at the shuttle
but they complement each other perfectly. As well as
of an old wooden loom we found in Greece. In the
spending a long period in the fashion industry, working
world of fashion and design we’re seeing a return to
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This page, the M/Y Dream, a six-deck, 106-metre superyacht with a 400 square metre lobby, several dining rooms and a series of super-luxury features; below, the designers on board. Opposite, the interior of a residence in Monte Carlo and the CQ Essentials table set. PHOTO FREDERIC DUCOUT
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Above, materials study for the lounge lobby of the Hotel Kempinski in Dubai and below a rendering
the glocal, the value of local artisanal skills”. Recently, the studio’s activities have focused on projects for the hotel sector, designing the interiors for large hotel in Dubai for the Kempinski chain, and on yacht design, with a project for the interiors of the M/Y Dream, a six-deck, 106-metre superyacht with a 400 square metre lobby, several dining rooms and a series of super-luxury features. This has kept the studio busy for seven years, enabling the designers to give full expression to their idea of luxury and comfort, setting up a dialogue between their special decorative language and a selection of the finest design objects. And currently? “We’re working on several projects for different companies. For Annibale Colombo we’re putting together a collection with different types of light and dark wood. We’re developing a carpet collection for the Portuguese company Ferreira de Sà, which still uses hand looms, and we’re overseeing the development of new porcelain designs based on a very artistic, almost conceptual approach for the Villari brand”. After a long series of projects for villas and apartments in France, Italy and Greece, their already highly productive involvement in residential interior design shows no sign of flagging. Ciarmoli and Queda have a special relationship with Greece and its islands, especially Folegandros, where the pair have found the ideal place to relax, a place of light, scents and tranquillity. It’s the perfect place to recharge the batteries of design inspiration.
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